After months of industrial action, strikes and unionization of QA developers, and growing frustration with the company, Activision announced that it had given full-time positions to QA testers in its studios.
announced ThursdayAll “temporary and contingent U.S.-based QA team members” at Activision Publishing and Blizzard will transition to “permanent full-time” positions effective July 1, 2022. Effective April 17, 2022, hourly rates will also increase to $20 per hour.
This represents a total of approximately 1,100 people who will become full-time Activision employees, receive additional benefits and access the company’s bonus plan (from which they were previously excluded). This change includes Warzone QA testers speaking out and pointing out issues with Activision’s handling of employees, including frequent layoffs and mistreatment of employees. The 1,100 employees do not include all of Activision’s QA testers as follows: According to Jason Schreier some were already working full-time elsewhere in the company.
This is a promising development for the company and its employees, as Activision has filed several lawsuits for unhealthy and toxic work environments. This raises the question of how effectively Raven employees can unionize and continue their efforts after these changes.
NEW: Activision Blizzard has just informed staff that the 1,100 QA testers will 1) be converted from contract to full-time employment and 2) receive a raise of at least $20 per hour. A major victory for QA after several labor uprisings and a budding union effort. Soon the story
—Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) April 7, 2022
Ideally, these steps would allow Activision to stop the talent bleed and become more stable by mid-2023, when Microsoft’s acquisition of the company is complete.
Source : The Load Out
